Features

Keep your guests happy

by Niamh Bartley

This may seem like an obvious thing to do, but you’d be surprised how a few small changes or disruptions can annoy your guests during your special day. They might not mention it to you, but if they’re not having a good time you’ll feel it which is certainly not what you want. There are a few things you can do to ensure your guests will have a great time all day long, it might be wise to implement some of these.

Plan aheadGive your guests plenty of notice before your big day, especially if it’s an out of town wedding. As well as that, plan for the worst case scenario in some wedding situations, just to be prepared. You won’t want to think about anything going wrong on your special day, but it doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan if the band goes to the wrong venue, or the cake your aunt made you looks like something out of a horror story. By doing all of this planning, your guests will probably never even notice what, to you, was a major mess up.

Short and sweet speechesWe all love wedding speeches, they are funny, emotional and really touching. On the other hand, speeches that drag on are sure to annoy your guests which you definitely don’t want. You could get caught up in the speeches and never want them to end, they are one of the best parts of the day, just be careful that they aren’t going to run for hours and that your guests will stay interested throughout.

Transport is keyThis does go without saying, but if your ceremony is being held a distance from your venue you should organise a safe and reliable way to get your guests between the two. There are plenty of cheap and great bus companies that can help with this and you can relax on the day knowing all will make it to the reception. Another vital thing to do is provide taxi numbers for your guests for the end of the night. If you’re having a hotel reception, the night manager might be able to call your guests a cab, but making taxi numbers readily available would be a good move to make, and you can rest assured that all of your guests got home or to their accommodation safe and sound.

Run on timeIt can be cute when the bride is ‘fashionably late’, it’s expected that you’ll arrive a few minutes after everyone else, but when the bride comes in half an hour later it’s not as fun for guests as you might think. Keep a schedule and try not to go too far over that, obviously, there will be one or two times throughout the day when you’ll be busy and the schedule will go out the window, just try your best to stick to it. The best thing to do would be give yourself extra time for each part of the day, and (hopefully) by the meal you’ll be ahead of your plan and you’ll have extra time to boogie.